Put oil in car but dry dipstick? 2000 VW Golf 1.6 Auto

[Lewdog]

About a month ago I purchased a 2000 1.6 Golf auto from a local dealer.

Driving home last night, a serious oil warning light came on about half a mile from my home (Oil symbol appeared on dashboard, then "STOP" in big letters, then disappeared). I checked the dipstick as soon as I got home, and it was pretty bone dry.

I went to the supermarket and bought 2 litres of 5w30 (VW reccomended) oil and started filling it up. I put in about a litre, gave it 5-10mins to settle in before checking it. Still dry. Then I ran the engine for a bit and checked again. A small amount of oil showed at the bottom of the dipstick, almost to the min mark- but after I wiped it and dipped it back in, it was dry again.

I let it sit overnight and tried again this morning- putting the other litre in (now 2litres of oil in there). Again, gave it 5-10 minutes to settle before checking, but it's still dry. Ran the engine for a bit, got the same result of a little but of oil showing up around the min mark (despite there now being twice as much in there) but after wiping it, it was dry again with maybe a couple millimeters of oil showing at the very very bottom of the dipstick.

I have checked for leaks/spills (although I'm no expert) and there is nothing dripping from anywhere (aside from a slight bit of condensation/water coming from the exhaust when I started it this morning).

I was wondering what action I should take, if any, before I go and spend another £16 on another 2litres of F**king oil.

Thanks

 

[bernardgreen]

Oil capacity on a friend's Golf is about 4 litres.

Either you have an oil leak ( though that would leave a patch under the car ) or it is burning oil ( smokey exhaust ) or the dealer sold it without much oil.

 

[Lewdog]

So you recommend to just keep adding oil until it appears? That would be the logical action to take but I'm concerned about overfilling it as it's been showing the same amount of oil for 0.5litres as 2litres...?

And like I said, no visible oil leaks as far as I can see.

 

[Dave54]

Hang on a minute! The wrong length dipstick might be fitted! A quick look online looks as if there are a couple of different lengths for that car.
You have checked the oil before? If you haven't, and once this is sorted, I'd reckon on checking it once a week, no matter what level monitors etc. might be fitted.

The only way I can think to check the dipstick is find out what the right length is (VAG dealer I'd have thought to be sure) and measure yours. Apparently again looking online some engines may have an extension tube too.

As a stopgap measure you could drop the oil and refill with the correct amount for that engine. PIA I know. Should show the right amount on the dipstick then as well.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Good info from Dave, but I would be bringing it back to the dealer in the morning. I would also phone before hand to let them know what the dipstick is reading and do they want to send someone out to you because if the engine blows up on the way to the dealer then he can take full responsibility.

Do this via email and then phone to confirm they have read and agreed to it.

Andy

 

[Dave54]

Good info from Dave, but I would be bringing it back to the dealer in the morning. I would also phone before hand to let them know what the dipstick is reading and do they want to send someone out to you because if the engine blows up on the way to the dealer then he can take full responsibility.

Do this via email and then phone to confirm they have read and agreed to it.

Andy

Agreed. It came from a dealer, let them sort it out.

 

[Burnerman]

Just thinking.....is the Golf prone to the end of the dipstick snapping off, as per Peugeot / Citroen?
I'm not sure I'd be happy with any vehicle that consumed that amount of oil....especially as it may have been run almost dry
John

 

[mfarrow]

Be reasonable, you're returning a 15 year old car!

The fact the oil light came on means there was Very little oil in the engine, it will pick up at a very low level maybe 1ltr or less.

Take it to the dealer and ask them to put some oil in it, to the max mark on the dipstick. They'll have it cheaper than you can ever buy it. Then check it daily and if it keeps going down take it back and discuss options.

The Which? approach of rejecting cars/letters to dealer isn't all it's cracked up to be in the second hand market unless you're buying something relatively new.

 

[Burnerman]

You are absolutely right......he's only had the car for a month though and if it's burnt that quantity of oil since then, things don't bode well.
I doubt he'll get a warm reception!
John

 

[footprints]

Just checking is there a separate dipstick for the auto box? Have you got the right one?

 

[Lewdog]

Right, I went out and bought another 2litres and put about another 500ml in and I finally got a reading! Just into the "normal" zone. I put in another 300ml or so to get it about 3 quarters to the top. Was slightly tentative to add anymore than that in case there was some oil still to drop into the reservoir and didn't want to overfill. Guess I was just a bit short still?! Must of been very dry

But now that it's safely in the normal zone, I'm going to drive it to work tomorrow, then check the level when I get home. If it's still reading normal, I'll fill it to the top, and it should all be good. If it's gone down, I'll ring the dealer and see what the problem is.

Thanks for all your help

 

[Burnerman]

Good move!
John